Nov 22, 2010

THE READER: The Gifted Eyes of Legendary designer Charles Eames and his thoughts...

With many discussions with Eames Demetrios, I came to like the person that Charles Eames was and soon I was converted into a great fan. He was not only a genius of at product design but also a great photographer and very good at visualization. He said about this passion of photography and his hard work ' I had been making wet plate pictures, mixing my own emulsions, for more than a year before I found out that film has been invented!'…

Andrea Bocelli, Grande Ufficiale OMRI (born 22 September 1958) is an Italian pop tenor and crossover artist. Since winning the Newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival, in 1994, he has recorded thirteen studio albums, of both pop and classical music selling over 70 million copies worldwide. He is the biggest-selling singer in the history of Classical music.

The first time, I visited this temple, I had realised the energy this temple radiates and every time I looked for an opportunity to relive those moments of spiritual bliss and peace. The DakshineswarKaliTemple is a Hindu temple located in Dakshineswar near Kolkata. Situated on the eastern bank of the HooghlyRiver, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, an aspect of Kali, literally meaning, 'She who takes Her devotees across the ocean of existence. The temple was built by Rani Rashmoni, a philanthropist and a devotee of Kali in 1855. The temple is famous for its association with Ramakrishna a mystic of 19th Century Bengal.

Last few weeks were very hectic on my professional front as well as interesting too. Saw some good movies, read some great books. Interestingly, some people thought me good enough to be featured in their community of poets, few weeks back at ‘One Stop Poetry - Where Poets, Writers and Artists Meet’. Once again, I am greatful to them for this honor…

My exposure to Charles and Ray Eames legendary designs happened on my work front few years back when I was employed with Herman Miller. As I continued to interact with his enthusiastic fans across India among clients, interior designers and Architects, I developed a deep interest in his works, products and his thoughts. This interest reached a high point, when I travelled with his grandson Eames Demetrios in organizing the exhibition ‘Gifted Eyes of Charles Eames’ in Mumbai and Ahemdabad, organized by ‘Herman Miller’. With many discussions with Eames Demetrios, I came to like the person that Charles Eames was and soon I was converted into a great fan. He was not only a genius of at product design but also a great photographer and very good at visualization. He said about this passion of photography and his hard work ' I had been making wet plate pictures, mixing my own emulsions, for more than a year before I found out that film has been invented!' His ‘Power of Ten’ produced in 1977 in his studio is a must see for creative people. This is a fantastic and a great journey from electrons – to – Universe as a whole - an amazing piece of art, where he used some great techniques of shooting, which Hollywood adapted in their film making.

A Brief Note on Charles and Ray Eames

Charles and Ray Eames
Source Wikipedia

Charles (1907–1978) and Ray (1912–1988) Eames were American designers, who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.

In the 1950s, the Eames' continued their work in architecture andmodern furnituredesign. Like in the earlier molded plywood work, the Eames' pioneered innovative technologies, such as the fiberglass, plastic resin chairs and the wire mesh chairs designed forHerman Miller. Charles and Ray would soon channel Charles' interest inphotographyinto the production of short films. From their first film, the unfinishedTraveling Boy(1950), to the extraordinaryPowers of Ten(1977), their cinematic work was an outlet for ideas, a vehicle for experimentation and education.

Iconic Furniture

The Eames' also conceived and designed a number of landmark exhibitions. The first of these,Mathematica: a world of numbers...and beyond(1961), was sponsored byIBM, and is the only one of their exhibitions still extant.The Mathematica Exhibition is still considered a model forscientific popularizationexhibitions. It was followed by "A Computer Perspective: Background to the Computer Age" (1971) and "The World of Franklin and Jefferson" (1975–1977), among others. This section is from Wikipedia… Click here to read more

With Eames Demetrios
Mumbai Exhibition

The ‘Gifted Eye Of Charles Eames’ and his thoughts…

Here I would like to bring some of the photographs that I have had taken of his pictures in various exhibitions in India to showcase his gifted ‘eye’ and also producing some of his thoughts from his book ‘100 Quote – By Charles Eames’

BELOW ARE SOME OF THE EXHIBITED PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY CHARLES EAMES

Eventually everything connects – people, ideas, objects… the quality of the connection is the key to quality per se.

Innovate as a last resort. More horrors are done in the name of innovation than any other.

Toys are not really as innocent as they look. Toys and games are the preludes to serious ideas.

Don’t take any job with whose objective you do not agree and don’t take a job as a stepping stone to something else… By following these guidelines, you have a chance of bringing your entire experience to the jobs you do and avoiding a lot of misery.

We start gradually, as in love affair. We only begin to ignite when every living moment is dedicated to the search.

Beyond the age of information is the age of choices.

In architecture, or furniture, or jack straws, it’s the connection that can do you in. Where two materials come together, brother, watch out.

(On choosing a plastic chair color:) What I really want is a black with feeling.

If nothing else, a student must get from his training a feeling of security in change.

Things seldom develop in vacuum

To be realistic one must always admit the influence of those who have done before.

We work because it’s a chain reaction; each subject leads to the next

We wanted to make the best for the most for the least

Of most importance is the learning from primary experiences.

I don’t believe in this ‘gifted few’ concept, just in people doing things they are really interested in doing. They have a way of getting good at whatever it is.

Don’t be like I was. Don’t be afraid of history. Take all of it you can get.

Take your pleasure seriously

Much of mathematics has the appeal of magic, and some of it is – pure magic

Dear Ray (Charles Eames’s wife), we will start off pretty damn broke and I wanted to hear you say it wouldn’t make any difference

We must see each other soon: this business of becoming ‘dream people’ in each other’s mind is no good

The house must make no insistent demand for itself, but rather aid as a back ground for life in work. This house acts as re-orientor and shock absorber

(Mies van der Rohe) said: ‘ I don’t want to be interesting, I just want to be good.’ This, I think, a craftsman should have tattooed across his chest

Role of a designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests

Genius? Nothing – we just worked harder

…the uncommon beauty of common things…

If you ask for criticism, you get it. If you don’t, there is a chance everyone will be too busy to worry about it

Ideas are cheap. Always be passionate about ideas and communicating those ideas and discoveries to others in the things you make

To excel in the structuring of a problem, we must be committed to a concern for quality in everything around us. We must learn to care deeply

I respect the people with a point of view… when they can .. defend that point of view. But if they cant, then they are just role-playing

At all times, love and discipline have led to a beautiful environment and a good life

I think search for rewarding experience comes directly from the business of getting on with daily life

I have never been forced to accept compromise, but I have willingly accepted constraints

The ideal contract should be so worded that no on can tell which party wrote it

Any time one or more things are consciously put together in a way that they can accomplish something better than they could have accomplished individually, this is an act of design

Art resides in the quality of doing; process is not magic

One of something may be beautiful, but can you stand to see 100 in a row?

Exhibition at National Institute of Designs - Ahmadabad, India

Here is more than a prediction – but a sincere hope that tomorrow’s design will see less and less of the designer himself reflected in it

Some times you come across interesting things by chance. This is what happened to me when me and my brother were searching for a Home Theater system and for the Demo, the JBL guys played Andrea Bocelli’s song “Dare to Live” and that was a revelation to us. Loved the music and the voice so much that we requested the JBL systems guys to play more of his songs and then back home researched about him and found out some CD’s of his songs and enjoyed it thoroughly. So here is hoping you will also like this singer and a very creative artist.

Andrea Bocelli, Grand officer OMRI (born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became completely blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident.

Since winning the Newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival in 1994,Bocelli has recorded thirteen solo studio albums, of both pop and classical music, two greatest hits albums, and eight complete operas, selling over 70 million copies worldwide. Thus, he is the biggest-selling solo artist in the history of classical music and has caused core classical repertoire to "cross over" to the top of international pop charts and into previously uncharted territory in popular culture.

In 1998, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, his nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards marked the first, and so far only, time a classical artist had been nominated in the category, since Leontyne Price, in 1961. The Prayer, his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film, The Quest for Camelot, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category. With the release of his classical album, Sacred Arias, Bocelli captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records, as he simultaneously held the top 3 positions on the US classical albums charts. Five of his albums have since reached the Top 10 on the Billboard 20, and a record-setting 7, have topped the classical albums charts in the United States.

On the day of Durga Puja, I will take you on a walk with me
to the holy place of Goddess Durga / Kali Ma – Dakshineshwar Temple in Kolkata.
One the most powerful temples, I have been too. This is also the place of Sh.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who was the guru of Sh. Paramahamsa Yogananda (who
wrote the book “Autobiography Of Yogi” that brought Indian spirituality to the
west) as well as of Vivekananda.

What is Durga Puja?

Durga Sculpture @ Chennai

Durga Puja is about the worship of Goddess Durga, who is
takes her fierce form to kill the demons. Durga Puja is widely celebrated in
the India. Not only is it the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the
State of West Bengal, but it is also the most significant socio-cultural event
in Bengali society. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and
in Bangladesh. Nowadays, many diasporas Bengali cultural organizations arrange
for Durgotsab in countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom,
Australia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among
others. In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of
the British Museum.

To read more about Durga Puja check this article at Wikipedia...

________________________________

So here is my journey... Hope you enjoy it.

The Dakshineshwar Temple

On my way back from a project of Apollo Hospitals - Bhubaneshwar, I had an over night stop over at Kolkata due to non availability of direct flight to Chennai. So the best thing to do was to use this opportunity to visit DakshineshwarTemple, which I relate to in a powerful way. The first time, I visited this temple, I had realised the energy this temple radiates and every time I looked for an opportunity to relive those moments of spiritual bliss and peace.

As my flight landed early evening, I had to rush to hotel and freshen up so that I can catch the evening aarti (A ritual where the Goddess, is worshipped with lamps, camphor and incense along with prayers invoking her blessings). By the time I reached the temple, a few KMs from the hotel I was staying, it was already dark and as this was around the time of New Year, had attracted large crowd. After the Aarti, I went to the hall that is directly in front of the Goddess and planned to sit there for some time meditating and mantra chanting.

Devotees gathering to sing songs for Kali Ma

The night was falling and devotees were slowly moving away for dinner and to be with the family and loved ones. As the temple emptied of the crowd, slowly the flow of the Holy River Ganges started reaching me, in its soft and soothing sounds. I started feeling the calm that spreads slowly within the heart. After a little while, I realised that there was some activity happening around me. I opened my eyes to see soft smiles of some devotees, who were gathering near me. They were silently setting up some musical instruments like dhol (percussion drums), cymbals, flute, and as they got ready, few more joined them. Later on, I realised that they work in the offices nearby, and every festival season come over with their group to sing and dance in front of Goddess Kali. I was thrilled and waited patiently for them to start their Kirtan (Devotional songs and chanting). After a little while, softly they started singing, and beat by beat, it gathered momentum of devotion, minute by minute the frenzy of trance took over the group. I was lost in those beats too…

Kali Ma

Here is one verse written that day in 2005 of the Magical Dance

Magic of Dance

_________

Sound of silence

Sound of conch

The sounds of drum beat

And reverberations of Om

Dances in circle, with group of devotees

A flaming fire, scent of incense,

Rhythms of heart beat – in depths of Trance

The chants kept melting in me

Till there was no ‘me’

I swirled with my hand outstretched

Round and round

Like the old mystic's; Sufi's

Floated within the group

Went high and higher in blissful dance

And slowly merged

In the consciousness

Of you and of me

In the Universe

Small enough to be with in me

In a little circle of dance

She took me in her arms

And went away to the stars

A long silver thread – umbilical chord

From her, bound me in the frenzy of dance

Some one still swirling within the circle, below

Singers still singing your song

Next day,

I woke up in the dew

That was hanging with the grass blade

Till sunrise touched

With morning rays

Awake within your love

I am lying still among the chants

__________________________

Shashi @ 2005

But before I get more into my journey let me give you the Temple’s historic significance and the great role it has played in Hindu Religious philosophy, through the power of Kali, the temple Priest Sh. Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, his Guru’s and his disciples like Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda etc.

Temple Dakshineshwar

The Temple:

The DakshineswarKaliTemple is a Hindu temple located in Dakshineswar near Kolkata. Situated on the eastern bank of the HooghlyRiver, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, an aspect of Kali, literally meaning, 'She who takes Her devotees across the ocean of existence. The temple was built by Rani Rashmoni, a philanthropist and a devotee of Kali in 1855. The temple is famous for its association with Ramakrishna a mystic of 19th Century Bengal.

The temple compound, apart from the nine-spired main temple, contains a large courtyard surrounding the temple, with rooms along the boundary walls. There are twelve shrines dedicated to Shiva—Kali's companion—along the riverfront, a temple to Radha-Krishna, a bathing Ghat on the river, a shrine dedicated to Rani Rashmoni. The chamber in the northwestern corner just beyond the last of the Shiva temples, is where Ramakrishna spent a considerable part of his life.

Large gathering of crowds at Dakshineshwar temple
is common

Close to the main temple is the row of twelve identical Shiva temples built facing the east in the typical ‘Aat Chala’ Bengal architecture, they are built on either side of the Ghat on the HooghlyRiver.

Here let me give experience of Paramhamsa Yogananda at this particular spot in the temple from his great book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ (one of the major influences on the western worlds on Hinduism and India’s religious philosophy)

I proceeded alone to the colonnaded hall which fronts the large temple of Kali, or Mother Nature. Selecting a shady spot near one of the pillars, I arranged my body in the lotus posture. Although it was only about seven o'clock, the morning sun would soon be oppressive.

The world receded as I became devotionally entranced. My mind was concentrated on Goddess Kali, whose image at Dakshineswar had been the special object of adoration by the great master, Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. In answer to his anguished demands, the stone image of this very temple had often taken a living form and conversed with him.

"Silent Mother with stony heart," I prayed, "Thou becamest filled with life at the request of Thy beloved devotee Ramakrishna; why dost Thou not also heed the wails of this yearning son of Thine?"

My aspiring zeal increased boundlessly, accompanied by a divine peace. Yet, when five hours had passed, and the Goddess whom I was inwardly visualizing had made no response, I felt slightly disheartened. Sometimes it is a test by God to delay the fulfillment of prayers. But He eventually appears to the persistent devotee in whatever form he holds dear. A devout Christian sees Jesus; a Hindu beholds Krishna, or the Goddess Kali, or an expanding Light if his worship takes an impersonal turn.

Old Image of Temple

Reluctantly I opened my eyes, and saw that the temple doors were being locked by a priest, in conformance with a noon-hour custom. I rose from my secluded seat under the open, roofed hall, and stepped into the courtyard. Its stone floor was scorching under the midday sun; my bare feet were painfully burned.

"Divine Mother," I silently remonstrated, "Thou didst not come to me in vision, and now Thou art hidden in the temple behind closed doors. I wanted to offer a special prayer to Thee today on behalf of my brother-in-law."

My inward petition was instantly acknowledged. First, a delightful cold wave descended over my back and under my feet, banishing all discomfort. Then, to my amazement, the temple became greatly magnified. Its large door slowly opened, revealing the stone figure of Goddess Kali. Gradually it changed into a living form, smilingly nodding in greeting, thrilling me with joy indescribable. As if by a mystic syringe, the breath was withdrawn from my lungs; my body became very still, though not inert.

An ecstatic enlargement of consciousness followed. I could see clearly for several miles over the GangesRiver to my left, and beyond the temple into the entire Dakshineswar precincts. The walls of all buildings glimmered transparently; through them I observed people walking to and fro over distant acres.

Though I was breathless and my body in a strangely quiet state, yet I was able to move my hands and feet freely. For several minutes I experimented in closing and opening my eyes; in either state I saw distinctly the whole Dakshineswar panorama.

___

The next day, as I started from my hotel for the morning Aarti, the light was just breaking over the eastern sky, ever crowded roads of Kolkata, were free and the cool air from Hooghly river was freshening. As I turned from the road to the bylanes of the temple, I had a perfect view of small shops full of flowers, specially the hibiscus flower that is the favorite of kali Ma. There was a large que of devotees and slowly as the line inched towards the temple, the sun rose up to great the river, the temple and the devotees…

The place where Ramakrishna Paramahamsa lived

The Darshan was the perfect and I still had the reverbarations from the experiences of yesterday night so, I enjoyed the feeling of closeness to Kali ma. After I have had the offering of the temple I went around the hall, the bathing Ghat and finally went to sit for some time in the place where Great Ramakrishna Paramhamsa used to stay. This room still contains the bed, where he used to sleep, the books and his wooden foot wear. Kept in the same condition since he left and many of the devotees come here to sit and be with his energy that is still present in the room. When I readhed there, there were already many devotees in meditation there and I cornered one space there and went into my own thoughts and meditation. In this room, the focus and peace comes very easy. Like Paramahamsa is guiding you…

Ramakrishna (February 18, 1836 - August 16, 1886) was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda[4][5][6][7] - both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu renaissance during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of his disciples and devotees believe he was an avatar or incarnation of God. He is also referred as "Paramahamsa" by his devotees, meaning "Great Swan".

Ramakrishna was born in a poor Brahmin Vaishnava family in rural Bengal. He became a priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, dedicated to the goddess Kali, which had the influence of the main strands of Bengali bhakti tradition.His first spiritual teacher was an ascetic woman skilled in Tantra and Vaishnava bhakti.Later an Advaita Vedantin ascetic taught him non-dual meditation, and according to Ramakrishna, he experienced nirvikalpa samadhi under his guidance. Ramakrishna also experimented with other religions, notably Islam and Christianity, and said that they all lead to the same God.Though conventionally uneducated, he attracted the attention of the middle class and numerous Bengali intellectuals.

Religious practices and teachers

Many of his religious views were based on traditional Hindu thought and practice. Ramakrishna’s personal and religious views focused on living a traditional life, with Hindu gods at the center. It was very much a philosophy of godly worship and dependence. He believed that everything in life–caste, wealth, family, and personal achievement–was already determined by the gods. Though in regards to other religions, Ramakrishna did not hold traditional biased views. He believed that every religion was welcome, and that worshiping a god in any way was better than not worshiping one at all. He became very known for his views on religious tolerance and was seen as a saintly figure to many because of them. His views of tolerance were also passed on through the Ramakrishna Mission and his followers.

In 1861, Bhairavi Brahmani, an orange-robed, middle-aged female ascetic, appeared at Dakshineshwar. She carried with her the Raghuvir Shila, a stone icon representing Ram and all Vaishnava deities.She was thoroughly conversant with the texts of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and practiced Tantra.According to the Bhairavi, Ramakrishna was experiencing phenomena that accompany mahabhava—the supreme attitude of loving devotion towards the divineand quoting from the bhakti shastras, she said that other religious figures like Radha and Chaitanya had similar experiences.

The Bhairavi initiated Ramakrishna into Tantra. Tantrism focuses on the worship of shakti and the object of Tantric training is to transcend the barriers between the holy and unholy as a means of achieving liberation and to see all aspects of the natural world as manifestations of the divine Shakti. Under her guidance, he went through a full course of sixty four major tantric sadhanas which were completed in 1863.

He also got initiated in other religious philosophy of India as well as Christianity and Islam through various Guru’s of his time.

____

After a while, I was out on the river bank doing my ritual of having a hot cuppa while wathing the people around … so here I leave you with those images from the place and hope that these and other images on the post inspire you to have a visit to the temple. And if you do plan to visit, please connect with me, I might come with you too…

YOU ARE VISITOR NUMBER...

WORLD'S TOP SPIRITUAL BLOG - 36TH RANK (2016)

SPOTLIGHT - PROMOTING NEW AUTHORS

Spotlight is my small effort to support upcoming authors in their effort to reach their readers. And yes, it is FREE, however to be featured in this section, you need to go through a selection process, please click here for details.

Writes Poetry, Haiku, Spiritual Fiction, most of the times about Spiritual and blissful living. He enjoys spiritual journeys across India / High on Himalayas or floating below in depths Ganges, on a self-exploration trip, all the while trying to work out that elusive enlightenment, which every one talks about but, most of the times, don't find.

... and he ends up writing about these experiences at his blog "Shadow Dancing With Mind", which is considered to be India's #1 Spiritual Blog (last three years) and has been listed #36 in top 50 spiritual blogs of the Planet this year.

MY BOOK - 1 OF 'THE MONK KEY' 3 PART SERIES

Songs of the Mist

SONGS OF THE MIST - An Introduction

"Many of us here yearn for something more in our life. Shashi has provided a spiritual release in his beautiful book, "Songs of the Mist". It’s unusual and thought provoking book. The book answers questions that we struggle to frame in our daily lives. Shashi’s descriptive beauty of the mystic nature of Himalayas interwoven with sufferings and the heartaches, and the struggle of each protagonist, provide eloquent and thought provoking read. Not a book to be browsed at glance and to reach books full potential demands commitment and investment of time to savor its subtlety and do grows." - Timeri N Murari (Famous Author, Script Writer and Journalist) speaking about “Songs of the Mist” at an evening of Art, Music and Writing organised by Apparao Galleries at The Hotel Leela Palace